On The Fly: Damon Now Batting In Donald Trump's Lineup

He went from bearded, long-haired Idiot in Boston to clean-cut, pinstripe-wearing star in New York. Like Babe Ruth before him, Johnny Damon won World Series rings on both sides of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. Now retired and looking for a new venue to compete in, Damon is spreading his talent to the world of reality TV. Damon will be among the cast members of the next installment of Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice, joining the likes of Geraldo Rivera, Kate Gosselin, Ian Ziering, Gilbert Gottfried, Terrell Owens, and Keshia Knight Pulliam (Rudy Huxtable, for you '80s sitcom fans). Around here, we group Damon with Ruth, Sparky Lyle, Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, Red Ruffing and Jacoby Ellsbury as significant players who worked on both sides of the rivalry. Now, though, he'll be just another has-been fired by Trump in the studio/boardroom.

It doesn't sound like Jon Lester will be next on the Boston-to-New York shuttle. The New York Daily News reports the Yankees will not jump into the deep — read: expensive — end of the free agent pool this winter. Forget Lester, Max Scherzer, James Shields and Pablo Sandoval, as the Yankees will apparently focus on re-signing Chase Headley and Brandon McCarthy. … Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona is enjoying life in Cleveland. After an 85-win season in 2014, the Indians added two years to Francona's contract, extending the deal through 2018 with team options through 2020. Francona is 177-147 in two years in Cleveland, turning an irrelevant team into a contender.

Buckle up for big-time college hockey, Hartford. The UConn Huskies play their first Hockey East game at the XL Center and one of the blue bloods in the sport is visiting. Boston College, five-time national champion, coached by the legendary Jerry York, will be in Hartford and a big crowd is expected. Brian Leetch, pride of Connecticut and BC, will be on hand for the ceremonial puck drop along with former Whaler and UConn player Todd Krygier. It will be a great night of hockey. … As fans of the AHLHartford Wolf Pack know, the New York Rangers are desperate. Injuries to defensemen Ryan McDonagh, Dan Boyle, and Kevin Klein forced the team to promote Dylan McIlrath and Conor Allen from Hartford. But things are so bad that the Rangers auditioned 36-year-old Tomas Kaberle, who's been out of the NHL for more than a year. Did we mention the word "desperate?"

Adrian Peterson has accepted a plea deal on his felony child abuse charge and he will avoid prison. Peterson will plead no contest to a misdemeanor reckless assault charge, so he will pay $4,000 and perform 80 hours of community service. Peterson has missed eight games and could be reinstated by the NFL before the Vikings' next game, Nov. 16 against the Bears. He'll apparently have no problem when he does return. Fullback Jerome Felton tells USA Today that Peterson will "definitely have 100 percent support in the locker room."